Courtesy of Krystina DresslerFriends and family will formally welcome home Derek McConnell, 22, of Parsippany last year. McConnell, a U.S. Army Specialist, lost his legs and sustained severe injuries in July 2011 while on tour in Afghanistan. He was found dead in his bed last month

"For those who know me, you know usually I'm not a loss for words," she said. "Today, I have no words."

But she had plenty of support.

Hundreds packed Notre Dame Church Tuesday morning for a Mass honoring U.S. Army Sgt. Derek McConnell, 23, who was found dead in his bed March 18. His cause of death hasn't been determined, his mother said.

McConnell lost both of his legs after an improvised explosive device attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in July 2011. He had also fractured his skull and right arm and sustained severe blast wounds in the blast, but he was recently recovering, learning to walk with prosthetic legs.

McConnell was buried at in North Arlington's Holy Cross Cemetery Tuesday afternoon. His viewing at the Par-Troy Funeral Home Monday drew a large crowd, according to Parsippany Patch. McConnell grew up in North Caldwell and graduated from West Essex High School.

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Representatives from various military branches and police and fire departments attended the the service, as did Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, who sat in the last pew. The congressman said he had gotten to know McConnell's family since he returned from Afghanistan.

"He was a very brave and wonderful American from a wonderful family with an amazing future a had of him," Frelinghuysen said. "He was the epitome of courage. A real American hero. I'm saddened. I've know the family since Derek came back from the war. He was near death on several occasions and brought back to life with the love of his family."

The Rev. Anthony Randazzo led the service. He called McConnell "a saint."

"He inspired each of us to love and to never give up and to be the best child of God you could be anywhere in the world," Randazzo said.